Losing
by Blonde Gingernut
Summary: Bella almost dies in NM, Edward thinks she's dead & goes to the Volturi. They decide not to kill him. Both characters recreate their lives without each other. What happens when they meet again? Contains tragedy / SM owns all. R&R, ty x
1. The End

Chapter 1

**The End**

The girl stood at the edge of the cliff, her toes hanging over the ledge. Her expression was one of peace, not of fear; despite the dangerous situation she was in. She curled her toes over the jagged rock, and a tiny pebble fell away, into the murky, wavy waters below. She shuddered: a ripple of relief flowing through her. Then, as quickly as dirt being washed away, the expression faded. She blinked, as though unsure of the events that led her to stand on the cliff. She watched the sea below toss, and paled, becoming very afraid. She wasn't wearing much; three quarter length jeans and a thin t-shirt, though she must have noticed the storm, the way the sea welcomed it. She didn't. Though she was afraid, the girl jumped. Just a simple movement, a bend of the knees, and she was airborne. She dove, her hair billowed behind her, almost straight with the speed she was falling. She crashed into the dark blue waters, screaming as it rushed toward her, then, silence. Nothing. She didn't resurface.

Alice Cullen opened her eyes slowly, as though the light was painful to her. She was crying. Not in the regular way; with the flowing tears and runny nose, but she was still crying. Just because there were no tears, it didn't mean she wasn't upset. Her brother Edward had seen what she saw, and was standing still in the doorway, gaping at her. He had asked her not to look into the future, but now he was glad she had.

"Sorry I looked into the future," She whispered to him, her voice cracking with emotion. He didn't speak; instead, he dashed for the stairs, grabbing his phone from his attic room, where he resided with the Denali's, cousins of theirs. The rest of the family watched them in confusion, unsure what was happening. They all knew, of course, Edward and Alice's bond, but sometimes, it was impossible for them to guess the situation. Times like now. Edward reappeared, holding onto a sleek black cell phone. Contrary to his normal calm, collected demeanour, he was shaking as he searched the phone for a number. It took him three tries to press the call button. He held it to his ear, then looked back at Alice, watching her with significance, as though warning her. The rest of the family seemed to catch on to the situation, though not entirely. It was obvious to them that Alice had a premonition – as was her skill – and Edward hadn't liked what he saw in her mind.

There appeared to be no answer. He threw the phone across the room angrily, where it not only shattered itself, but it dented the wall. "Come on," He hissed, his voice jagged and raw, like he was just starting to speak again. He was.

The plane journey was long and silent. As rich as the family were, Edward was more than happy to throw money bribes at any official he saw, so long as it would get them to Washington quicker. They had their own jet, and it didn't take long for them to arrive in Seattle. Then, deciding against taking a car, they ran the rest of the way, back to the small town of Forks. Their determination could just as easily be called desperation as they tore through the trees, faster than any car. Edward arrived in Forks first, guilt and worry pushing him forward as he thought of all that he had lost, not permanently, not _yet_.

They reached the boundary line, an invisible line that cut off a large part of the forest and the beach. Alice hesitated, her forehead creased with worry and uncertainty. Crossing the boundary would bring an army down on her family, possibly plenty of other vampires in America. She didn't know which she wanted less: her whole family dying at the hands of some werewolves, or her best friend, her sister dying. Edward had no such qualms. He ran through the line like it was any other part of the forest. Hesitant at first, Alice followed him. She didn't have any doubts about her brother's priorities, and her family were strong, and not in close danger.

Edward was out of her sight now, running faster than he ever had before. Just as she expected, she could hear the werewolves acknowledge their presence, and they weren't happy about it. The few that had shifted howled in rage and ran to intercept the two invading vampires. They didn't last long. As Alice ran forward, she could hear snaps, like something heavy was standing on twigs. She soon found the cause. As she followed Edward's path, she saw broken bodies littered around, some wolves, some human. She could smell their revolting blood as she passed, but the vampire scent of Edward had disappeared. It wasn't hard to tell what had happened – Edward was in the trees, having stepped on the wolves' heads and necks, rising over them, stopping their interference. Suddenly, Alice had to stop running. Vampires rarely felt pain, but Alice often did. Most of the time, she chose her visions, when she got them, what they would show, but sometimes, they just came to her. And she saw it; they were too late. In her vision, they were searching the sea for Bella, coming up with nothing. "Edward!" She cried, but she knew that he wouldn't listen to her, even if he knew they wouldn't find her.

When they reached the beach, it seemed like an unchanging day; like whatever was happening – or _had _happened – wouldn't affect it. Quickly, Alice found the cliffs from her vision. She couldn't see Bella standing on the edge, hair whipping about her face as she uncertainly toed the edge. She couldn't see anyone. She could smell the human girl, the way she had went, and the old, rusty red Chevy still stood in wait. Alice gasped when she saw it, like she was fighting for air through tears, but instead of mourning, she trudged over to the sea.

If Isabella Swan had jumped into the sea, it didn't show. She looked around for Edward uncertainly, to express her thoughts if he wasn't going to listen to them, but he was nowhere in sight. Then, she saw him in the water, near the rocks around where Bella would have fallen. Shaking her head I despair, she ran after him. Just as she predicted, it seemed hopeless.

Edward knew that Bella would never fit under a rock, still he checked. He knew that his vampire eyes would see her if she was tangled in seaweed, but he thoroughly checked there, too. There were no traces of Bella's red blood on the rocks, so he deduced that she had a clean fall; straight into the water. That didn't mean she was safe, of course. If he couldn't find her, then there was a problem. Alice was in the water, too, searching desperately, wanting to prove her visions wrong. "Did you see what happened to her?" Edward asked coldly. He wasn't angry at her, he was just unable to feel anything else.

"We won't find her," She whispered, voice cracking with emotion. Though Edward had no proof that she was right or wrong, her negativity angered him. How could she have given up on Bella so easily? Not just there; searching in the sea, but when they left Forks, too. If she had _really_ loved Bella, she wouldn't have let him leave. Hell, she wouldn't have left herself. She was never forceful with her visions – she _saw_ that Bella would either die or be a vampire, but she didn't push any of the futures forward. That's why Bella was…

_No_. He thought. He couldn't pin this on Alice. It was all his fault, and he knew it. Alice, and the rest of his family knew it, but they hadn't said a thing to make him feel bad. He stopped treading water, keeping himself afloat, and let himself sink to the bottom._ This is nice._ He thought, though it was clear he was lying. _Not needing to feel, not needing to _be_. _He smiled, but it was a cracked smile. He wasn't happy. Not one bit. Still, his eyes never missed a detail; a strand of what could be chocolate brown hair, a flash of maybe her pale skin, he saw her everywhere. Suddenly, he felt small, cool hands under his arms, and for a second, he thought it was Bella holding him. Reality came, as usual, and he knew it was only Alice. She pulled him up to the surface, and he didn't resist. She pulled him right out of the water, till he was lying on the beach, staring up at the dark, stormy sky. Then, she started pounding on his chest with a clasped fist, before breathing oxygen into his useless lungs. He pushed her off suddenly, too confused to stay passive. When he sat up, looking around in a dying hope, he saw no Isabella, but he did see a Swan. Charlie Swan, Bella's father was there, along with some La Push residents – Billy Black, Quil Ateara Sr. – all standing around the edge of the beach.

"Alice? Alice Cullen?" Charlie croaked. She touched Edward lightly on the shoulder before responding; whether to caution him, or pretending to check he was okay, he didn't know.

"Yes. I- it's me, Mr. Swan." She whispered, but he heard. He began walking hesitantly toward them.

"I can't believe-" He choked, trying to talk. "I can't believe this. First Harry Clearwater, then… then half of the La Push boys, and- and… my _little girl_." He wasn't all sadness, of course. Though he was human, he moved quickly. All Edward saw was a heavy boot coming toward his face, then he was lying down again, smacked to the ground by the sheer force of Charlie's kick. "This is all _your _fault!" He roared.

"Mr _Swan!_" Alice squeaked, standing up to be between the angry father and her brother. If she could cry, the ocean would be a lot deeper with her tears by now. Of course, to Charlie Swan, it looked like she wasn't upset. Her face was dry as the sun, unaffected by human displays of emotion.

He stared at the petite vampire for a long time, his glassy gaze thoughtful and half mad. "Don't you care, Alice Cullen?" He asked blankly, as though asking her the time of day.

She gasped, hurt by his doubt of her affection, but she didn't respond. She couldn't explain to him how upset she was. "How did- how did you come to know?" She asked quietly, before realizing that her question would make him ask her the same question.

"Jacob saw her jump. He had been searching for a very long time, he's only just went back in when you two appeared – how did _you_ find out?" He asked, still emotionless, like he'd expended all his feeling for the day.

She thought quickly. She would have told him one of the werewolves said, but she only knew the old ones, from Carlisle and Edward's stories, and the new one, Jacob. "Uh…We were back in town for a while, when we were walking along the beach, we bumped into Jacob and he asked us to help him look… What happened to the other La Push boys?" She asked, trying to sound surprised, like she didn't already know.

"They fell from the trees, apparently. All on their heads, breaking necks or falling on rocks. That's what Billy Black and Quil Sr. say. They say they could feel it, they _knew_ when they heard it. Personally, I don't believe it. I think something got to them boys. But then, the size of them… and their clothes! Not a speck or a crease on them, like they'd gotten changed before we came near them. Of course, Billy was there before I was… perhaps their clothing had been damaged, and he wanted to make them more dignified in death…" He sighed, shaking his head sadly.

"Or perhaps they had _no_ clothes, and we just don't want to know…" Alice muttered, but Charlie heard most of it.

"What?!" He snapped angrily.

"Nothing. Sorry." She said, and she really was sorry. She didn't really feel mean toward the wolves, it was just that they were natural enemies, and a comment like that was designed for someone you hated, not someone who had died, no matter the species.

"You know I blame you and your family, Alice?" He asked quietly, but it didn't really sound like he was talking to her, or anyone at all. Again, Alice didn't answer him. Instead, she turned around, looking for Edward, who had consequently disappeared. She saw his footprints in the sand, leading back to the sea. She sighed, and looked across the waves, searching for Edward.

Edward swam through the water, still desperate. Of course Bella wouldn't float around the cliffs; she would have been dragged further out to sea, and Edward was the creature who could find her best out there. He swam with all his speed, yet he still searched around, desperate for a glimpse of her. He didn't find Bella, but he found a werewolf. The dog was in human form, yet he was still a werewolf. And he seemed to have so much to be angry at Edward for. As soon as he saw the vampire, curses spewed from his mouth like he was coughing up water.

"It's your fault she's _dead_!" The creature cried, trembling fiercely, though he seemed too angry to even shift into a wolf. He would rather fight, desperate situation or not. The word 'dead' cut into Edward like a knife, but he let it pass without accepting it. "You leeches _killed her! _It wasn't suicide, it was _you_!" He snarled, and a large, dark hand swiped forward, intent on hitting the vampire. He didn't dodge, but he wasn't hit. "You know what? I hope you're _happy_," The wolf spat. "I hope it makes you feel good about yourself, that some living girl would give up her life for you, because I want the pleasure of knowing that the devil _himself_ will have to tear your smile away!" This time, the dark hand connected with Edward's pale face. Since he had proper strength; unlike Charlie Swan, the hit actually had affect, made a feeling. He didn't respond. Angry, the werewolf lunged forward, and the sea's waves happily obliged, pulling the two together so the wolf could get in better hits. There was a punch, a kick, anything the wolf could do. His short black hair fronted a head butt that sent the vampire back, but the werewolf – Jacob, Edward found out after finally finding out in his mind – was on him again instantly.

"If you don't mind, every second you float here hitting me, Bella could be drowning." Edward said quietly, carefully pushing Jacob away.

"Oh, like you'd care! If you haven't noticed, she's already _dead_! You killed her, you bastard!" He punched Edward again, still dealing every low blow he could think of; he pulled at Edward's copper hair, gouged at his eyes, bent back his limbs.

"You're stopping me from searching for her." Edward said calmly. "If you would let me go, we could continue looking,"

"No chance of letting _you _go, bloodsucker! Do you think I want _you _to find her?! _She_ won't want you to find her!"

"Well then, excuse me," He said uncaringly. It wasn't like he understood the details of his actions when he grabbed Jacob's neck and jerked. He simply wanted him out of the way. The werewolf could have matched Edward's strength any other time, but not when Edward was like this, when Bella was in trouble. There was an awful crack as he threw Jacob behind him, but he didn't care. What was another werewolf death in comparison to saving Bella? He dove under the water again, and continued searching.

"Nothing," Alice sighed over the phone. It was dark, and there was no sign of Edward, or more importantly, Bella.

"Is he still searching?" Carlisle asked concernedly.

"Yes," Alice sad quietly, looking around the beach. It had been days; humans and the remaining werewolves had given up on searches from land, instead they had been out in boats during the day. Edward hadn't returned since the second time he left, three days ago. The only reason Alice had stopped looking was so she could watch what the waves washed up, and so she could keep the rest of the family informed, though they were already on their way to help. "He's not going to find her, Carlisle," She whispered, feeling tearful. But that was when she found out she was wrong. The humans would find her, cold and dead, almost frozen and blue. The image in her head made her retch, feel the need to be sick though there was no food for her stomach to expel. It was unbearable to see – her best friend; her _sister_ – dead, having drowned or froze to death, when not so long ago she could have fixed it. She keeled over, coughing and retching, trying to remove the image of Bella in her head.

"Alice? Are you alright?" Carlisle asked her, just as another bout of shivers attacked her.

"Y-yeah." She said shakily. Though the idea that Bella was alive had been very unlikely to her, she hadn't expected them to find her, and not like that. She then realized that if _she_ was reacting badly to seeing the image in her mind, Edward would be seeing it for real, and he would feel a million times worse. "Carlisle, I have to get Edward out of there- they… they're going to find Bella, and it's not good…" Her voice sounded strangled, and she _felt_ strangled.

"Go, Alice!" Carlisle said urgently, understanding her immediately. She hung up and ran toward the sea, diving in. She swam quicker than Edward would be, since she wasn't searching for Bella. Eventually, she found him, but it was too late. He'd found _her._ She lay at the bottom of the sea, in amongst seaweed and rocks, perfect even in death. Edward hadn't tried to carry her to the surface, not yet. He was sitting on the sand at the bottom with his back to her, pressing his hands against his eyes as though to block out the world. Alice swam toward him, and grabbed his arm. He didn't resist when she pulled him away. He didn't even seem to notice.

He didn't notice a thing.


	2. The Beginning

**AN: [Insert Witty Disclaimer Here]. Just to apologize in advance, in my opinion, this chapter is kinda sad :/**

Chapter 2

**The Beginning**

Isabella Swan was in pain. Extreme pain. It was as if a fire was slowly making its way through her veins, scraping at the sides with fiery teeth. She recalled the situation that had brought her to this point, and sighed internally. She didn't know why she'd decided to jump… it was just something she'd woke up with in her mind. It had been a good idea when she'd saw the opportunity. And then the crushing force of the water… and then… she couldn't remember. All she knew was the fire. Time was counted in breaths, but they weren't her own. She wasn't breathing.

"Bella? Honey.." She could hear sobbing around her, and a loud whirring noise, but she couldn't identify either the voice, or the whirring noise. Pain exploded around her wrist, where James had bitten her before, and all of a sudden, she remembered. She remembered her anger as she plunged into the water. She was really jumping, she was more than likely going to die, yet she hadn't felt anything from _him_?! Not even a memory of their last minutes together, the rage she had felt towards him then? The hatred she had felt for herself, all those months he was away; hating herself because she couldn't let go, because she wasn't good enough, because she'd let herself become hurt by someone else… she had felt nothing. And then, when she thought she was going to drown, those strong arms, the ones that had killed her again? She understood what was happening to her. She was becoming a vampire. Victoria was out there somewhere, out in the waves, rejoicing her upcoming revenge, waiting patiently for Bella to return. Bella didn't really want to fight with Victoria, but she reasoned that she couldn't lose. Life didn't seem like such a big prize, and if she lost, she was dead.

Somebody around her, some human, touched her hand and searched for a pulse on her wrist again. There was nothing, she knew; the vampire venom had disabled her blood cells while it set to work altering them, freezing them in place. "Charlie, she's gone," Someone whispered.

"N- no!" The man, Charlie yelled. "Shock… treatment!" Bella couldn't understand what he was saying, but in front of her closed eyes, Charlie was pointing toward the shock plates capable of restarting a failing heart.

"No, Charlie. She's… she's f- she's frozen." The other man said, and Charlie Swan broke down. Bella knew who Charlie was. He was her Father, Police Chief Swan. His agony hurt to hear, she almost wanted to open her eyes and reassure him, but she knew that would be worse. He would completely freak out. Plus, she couldn't move at that moment, as her muscles had frozen up with the pain of the venom. Or so she thought. Blood that was in her heart, in her brain became affected with the spread of venom, grappling with her humanity powerfully, breaking down any comfort that was left. She let out a blood-curdling scream, one that belonged to no human being. The people in the emergency hospital helicopter froze, shocked and frightened, but still she screeched. She was wasting no oxygen, after all, so she could scream forever. Suddenly, the cry cut off, like she'd been strangled, but nobody relaxed, except Bella. The pain was gone. She couldn't feel any pain, not anymore. She could move again, wiggle her fingers and her toes, open her eyes. And she did all these things, then sat up. The people recoiled in horror. Even her own Father leapt back, crying out in fear. She then realized that she had red eyes, and that they were bringing her to the hospital because she was supposed to be dead. She smiled weakly, knowing that the humans in the helicopter couldn't know, and if she told them, they wouldn't believe her.

"Okay, I'm very-" She stopped talking to clear her throat, which suddenly felt like she'd swallowed a hedgehog whole. "Okay," The pain hadn't disappeared, but she couldn't stall anymore. Who knew how quickly they'd get to the hospital, or just emergency land, alert the police, and set to work revealing vampires? "Okay… I'm very sorry to have to put this on you, but… since you've seen this, you either _have to_ die, or become like me. A vampire."

"It's a…" Charlie started, slowly grabbing his gun from the holster around his waist. "It's a _demon!_" He hissed.

"No, look, Dad. It's me. Your daughter. You recognize me, right?" She said, but he was already pointing the gun at her, shaking his head. A tear escaped the side of his eye, but he ignored it, keeping the gun shakily trained on her.

"Charlie… I know what's going on here," Said a deep, gravelly voice. It was Billy Black, the father of Jacob. He knew all about vampires and werewolves, but he wasn't one himself.

"What? _What?!_ I lose my daughter, and happen to walk into some _sick joke_?! You're trying to tell me that the corpse of my daughter is still alive, as some supernatural _freak_? And you're in on it?! You sick, crippled old-" He had went hysterical, jerking the gun from Bella to Billy.

"Charlie!" Billy's voice boomed over the whirring sound of the propellers, commanding attention. Charlie didn't look at him, though. Tears were pouring from his eyes, sweat was dripping from him, and he shook his head quickly.

"This is too much, Billy. Too much…" He pulled the trigger and a bullet shot at Bella's newly vampire forehead. It bounced back, right at Charlie. She screamed. The only person she would have saved was killed. By her, really.

The helicopter touched down in the middle of a field, somewhere. Bella fell out of the door, sobbing into the earth. Tears didn't appear, but she felt them, like liquid phantoms. There were no other vampires in the helicopter; after Charlie's death, they had all went insane. She'd killed them all. And drunk from them, like a true evil vampire; she couldn't help herself, once the blood had been spilt, she just lost control. The people she wanted she couldn't be near: Jacob, mainly. He was a werewolf, and he would be repulsed by her, as much as she was herself. Charlie was already dead, and she couldn't bear to think of that. She wanted her Mother, like anyone would. Though her Mother was more of a child than she, and Bella had to do the motherly reassurances, being there for her Mom, she still wanted her Mom to do the same. She too, would be afraid and repelled by Bella, of course. Alice. She wanted Alice, but the pixie had been away from her forever… she wasn't sure if her ex-best friend was still her run-to person, and what could she say? Would the Cullens think that by coming to them, she wanted to be with them again? Would they leave her again? She decided that was a direction she didn't want to turn.

But on the other hand, she had never felt more alone in her life. It was a new life, after all… she had to make new friends, like new things… or did she?

She left the helicopter where it was, bodies and all still inside, and she ran. Anywhere. If you ran in any direction far enough, eventually you'd come to the sea. She just hoped she wasn't running from the west of America to east. That would be a _very_ long journey to the sea.

Somehow, she had picked the right decision, and she reached a beach not too far along from La Push. She knew where she could find Victoria, of course. The place just seemed significant enough for the redheaded vampire to choose it. Descending into the water, Bella began swimming around La Push, to the cliffs she had jumped from. Once there, she climbed the cliff, holding on with barely her fingernails. As she reached the top, where the wind had picked up greatly, she realized she was only wearing one of those hospital gowns, a spare from the helicopter. She shrugged, deciding that the _human_ Bella would have been embarrassed that she was essentially wearing a thin, tie-up-at-the-neck gown. The vampire Bella didn't care.

Like she had predicted, she met Victoria at the top of the tallest cliff. The woman's long, curly red hair swing about wildly in the wind, like the fire she'd infected Bella with. She smiled, happy to be finally getting what she wanted. Some time ago, when Edward Cullen had still cared for Bella, he had fought off a coven of vampires, the leader – James - intent on drinking the blood from Bella. Victoria was his mate, and of course, she was not happy when he died. Now, she wanted a 'fair' fight to the death with Bella, like they were in a tag team; Bella and Edward against Victoria and James. James and Edward had fought their turn, now it was Bella and Victoria's turn.

"Bella," Victoria said quietly. She had never really had a collected mind, but now it was even more scattered, and there's not a lot more dangerous than an insane vampire. Her red eyes danced madly, like she was reading something invisible to everyone else, something that moved quickly before her eyes. She grinned, and paced slowly forward, wanting to prolong the fight longer than necessary. Bella didn't. She was sick of trouble. It had faced her most of her life; though she was sure she had been a good person. Alright, so she believed more in science than she did in religions, but didn't her current status forgo most things religious? And scientific. Either way, she had never been cruel or mean, or a bad person in any way. She didn't deserve this. Just like she didn't deserve the Cullen's attention if they were going to dump her like they did.

So while Victoria thought about how to go by making Bella's last moments and her victory dramatic, Bella pounced. She had never really fought, but she used any experience she ever had on getting rid of Victoria. The psychotic vampire might have been the only thread from the past she had, but it was a connection she didn't want. The redhead wasn't a fighter; that much was obvious. She had been planning to surprise Bella, use some of her strength as a more experienced vampire, and be done. She hadn't expected Bella to get to her first. And that's why her much-awaited fight never happened. Though she was older, she couldn't fight a newborn vampire off properly, and in a couple of random, but well timed moves, Bella had Victoria pinned. She stared down at the snarling, spitting woman in surprise, as though she couldn't quite believe that she had bested her, and then, without moving a muscle, Victoria died underneath her. She leapt away in shock, and continued to watch as her red head fell away from her neck. There was a knife lying slanted on the ground, it's blade pointing up into the space where Victoria's head had been severed. Shaken but intrigued, Bella walked toward it again cautiously, wondering what knife could ever kill a vampire. It seemed to be made out of a pure white alabaster, but she knew that it had to be tougher stuff. It matched her own skin perfectly; so it was part of a vampire. She shuddered, repulsed to find that the knife had once been a living thing. It must have been a long limb, like a leg bone, or top of an arm, that had been sharpened down to a perfect, sharp point. She wondered what happened to the rest of the vampire, but it was obvious they would have been burnt.

She shuddered, but decided to keep the blade, though she was freaked out by Victoria's sudden and strange death. It could be useful for her new future. The old Bella didn't need to fight, carry a knife, but what about the new Bella? Nobody knew her, not even herself. The new Bella didn't even have a home. But she _could_.

Like a proper dangerous, wild vampire, she found herself a cave. It wasn't exactly a Dracula mansion, but it would do for now. She couldn't imagine walking into a realtor's in town just now; a newborn vampire with bright red eyes, who had just witnessed too many deaths in one day. So instead she stayed in the little cave she found, in the mountains near La Push. It was dark in the cave, and damp; dark green moss was growing around the entrance, and there were puddles. Bella huddled up at one side, as though trying to sleep, and smiled, looking out of the mouth of the cave, at the world outside. She wondered what sort of vampire she would be; whether she would be cruel like Victoria and James, or kind and caring, like the Cullens. She preferred the idea of being a good vampire, following her humanity, but she wasn't sure if she could deal with being good and getting nothing in return, like she had already for most of her life. She decided to let the world play its cards _first_, then she'd decide.

She stayed where she was for the rest of the day, and through the night, completely immobile. When eternity is in front of you, you can afford to spend hours at a time doing absolutely nothing. The next day, she hadn't slept a wink – vampires never do – but was incredibly exhausted. Her throat burned horrifically, so she decided that for the first time in her life, she would go hunting – for a drink.

The deer that she ran after could not, and did not evade her, she caught them eventually, only to let them go again. If they spilt blood, she would probably have drank from them all, but she just could not imagine actually sinking her teeth into their veins. Sure, she could smell the blood, sweet as her favourite dish, and she could see it throbbing underneath skin, but the idea still repelled her. Even when she could hear it, like a master calling on a dog it pulled her close, but that was all. One deer dropped dead just by her looking at it, but she had heard unusual heartbeats from it, so she decided that it was already heading for death, and it was just coincidental that it would die near her. Maybe it had a heart attack due to fear. That one she drank from at last, reasoning that she hadn't _actually_ killed it. Still, getting the blood out was an issue. She used a fingernail to slice at its neck, shuddering the whole time – at least until blood pooled at the wound. Then, her vision, all her senses narrowed in on that one feeling; the feeling of blood in her mouth. Killing them, biting their necks open was no longer an issue. She killed the whole herd, not leaving any blood. That was when she heard the footsteps.

Sam Uley paused, listening to the sounds of the forest. He knew that he would hear things better in wolf form, but secretly, he preferred being a human. Well, it wasn't really a secret; nobody in the pack could hide things from the others, and his dislike was understandable. He had broken his ex-girlfriend Leah's heart because of his change, and worse yet, he had attacked his fiancé in wolf form…

Plus, at that moment, he had the remainder of his pack around him as his eyes and ears. Though he didn't want to admit it to them, he knew he had lost the best half of the pack; sure, he still had Quil, Seth and Leah, but the two Clearwaters were just newly transformed and therefore, quite incompetent. He had lost Embry, Paul and Jared, and worst of all, Jacob, who had been found washed up on the beach earlier that day. If anything, Jacob was stronger than Sam; he was the true Alpha. The wolves were currently mourning, losing themselves to their more animalistic mentalities, so they wouldn't think about the loss of their brothers. Sam would rather mourn, he _wanted_ to acknowledge the loss, feel the pain.

Leah growled beside him, her grey fur rippling as the sound vibrated through her bones. She could smell something he couldn't. The other two picked up on it almost immediately afterward and growled at something far away in the forest. Leah then looked up at him, and he caught the message as clearly as if she had been talking to him. She wanted him to shift, to come inspect whatever the trouble was. He gave her a sharp nod and began removing his clothes unashamedly before tying them around his ankle, as was the tradition of Jacob. He shuddered into his new skin, the black fur appearing around him quickly as his body suddenly changed. Soon enough, he was on all fours next to the other three wolves, and could smell what they could. _Vampire_. The wolves had never been fond of the bloodsuckers, but now their hate was raw. They could understand the vampire, Edward's haste, but they couldn't understand why he had to kill off most of the werewolves. There was even a suspicion that he had been responsible for Jacob's death too, though they couldn't be sure. In the sea, by the rocks, a broken neck could have happened several ways.

The four wolves ran forward, searching out the vampire with their noses, until they came to a clearing where one sat on the wet grass, crying. They weren't fooled. Vampires can't cry, and even if they could, they didn't feel. Sam growled, deep in his throat, alerting the creature that they were not tricked. It didn't respond. He took a moment, instead of pouncing on the creature, to inspect the surroundings. There were deer corpses lying all around, every single one had its neck torn out. He internally grimaced in disgust. _Yuck!_ Seth supplied, sounding mortified.

_This is… truly disgusting._ Leah said.

_It's not responding to us, do we take it out?_ Quil asked, deliberately ignoring the corpses. This was the same question Sam was going to ask _them_.

_What do you think?_ Sam asked anyway, and they all mulled it over.

_The other vampire didn't give our pack a chance, why should we give _it_ a chance?_ Seth asked harshly, though he – and Leah - had good reason to be angry. Not only had they lost some of their new brothers, they had also lost their father a few days ago to a heart attack, and were feeling the loss as stress and anger. Sooner or later, they were going to have to take a few days off from the pack, from the world, or else it would become too much.

_Good point. Go for the kill_. Leah said.

_Who died and made you Alpha?_ Sam asked, though he agreed with her and her brother.

_Psh. It'd have to be _everyone_, right? I rank below my _little brother_. Great._

The mental talk ceased when the vampire moved. It didn't stand up, only rearranged the way it sat, so it was huddled into a ball, knees held tight against its chest. It had long, brown hair and very pale skin, pale even for a vampire. Sam decided it was a she. He growled again, and began advancing slowly. This time, the vampire noticed, and leapt up quickly. She faced them and a surprised look spread across her face as she took in their appearance. "I-I'm sorry," She choked, backing away slowly. Sam, and the rest of the wolves, barked in shock.

_Bella?!_ Quil cried. _But… Charlie and Billy found her! They called the ambulance and-_

_Wait._ Sam said and all the mental chatter silenced. _Look at her. She looks _dead_._

_Well of course she is! It's a _leech!Leah yelled.

_No, I mean, look at her lips. They're blue. And her skin is _too_ pale, her eyes aren't red, they're washed out red…_

_She's still a vampire_. Leah growled.

"I'll… I'll leave… Sam,… Quil…" She said, raising her hands in surrender. "Or kill me, whatever…"

Sam abruptly sat down, and commanded the others to do so as well. They all obliged, some grudgingly, but they all sat. Even if they were to kill her, they still had to hear what happened to her, and they _did_ know her well. Jacob would have wanted them to hear her out. _I'm shifting back._ Sam told the others, before focusing his energy on changing. Once he was human, he quickly pulled the clothes back on, and stood to face Bella. The scent of vampire burnt his nose, but he tried ignoring it. He was sure that his smell annoyed her, too. As a human, he sat down again, and looked at Bella as though telling her to do the same. She gracefully sank to the ground again, and watched him silently.

"Tell me how this happened." He commanded.

"I dove…" Bella started, the words coming uncertainly. "From the cliff. I nearly drowned, but Victoria – the red headed vampire you'd been hunting – _saved _me," Her face twisted as she said the word 'saved', into what appeared to be a disgusted look, "By changing me into this, then, she left me at the bottom, where I was found by…" She stopped talking, as though choking on unshed tears. She shook her head, and sobbed dryly.

"You were found by Charlie and Billy Black, who called the hospital, who sent a helicopter." Sam said coldly, guessing what happened next. They hadn't heard from Charlie or Billy…

Bella nodded, wiping her eyes and nose of invisible moisture. "We were in the helicopter and… and I woke up… and…"

"You killed them all?" Sam hissed.

"No!" She cried, though she knew she was lying. "…Yes. But I didn't want to! Charlie shot me, and it bounced back and got him, and then there was blood and then I couldn't control my actions and then…" She broke down into no-tears again. "I came back here and killed Victoria." She whispered, clasping her hands as though to say 'story's over!'.

Sam shook his head, sickened, yet unable to wish her any harm. Leah was in no such situation; she snarled and raced forward, set on taking Bella down. The vampire didn't respond, like her on/off switch had been flicked again. Even when Leah barrelled into her, she didn't raise an arm in defence. Seth then ran into Leah, fighting her off Bella. "Stop!" Sam yelled at them eventually. They stopped fighting. "I don't suppose you know what happened to Jacob?" He asked Bella, and once again, the switch was flicked on again.

"What? What happened to Jake?" She asked quickly, sounding and looking alarmed.

"Gone." Sam said coldly, hiding his anger and sadness behind that one word.

"Gone as in missing?" She whispered, tears that would never fall pooling in her pale eyes. Sam shook his head slowly, and she understood. She gasped, anguish covering her face like a mask removed. "No," She shook her head in denial. "No! How?!" She murmured.

"He washed up on the beach earlier today, his neck broken… We suspect it was one of your vampires." He said, expecting her to understand he meant the Cullens. She didn't. She thought of Victoria, glad that she had killed the evil vampire.

"What?" She frowned. "Jake's… he's…_ dead_?" She shook her head again. "_Why?!_" She said, swallowing.

"We don't know. We've also lost Jared, Embry and Paul, but we know how that happened." Sam sighed, and the other wolves howled quietly, as they always did when hearing the names in wolf form.

Bella gasped again, and shuddered. "I… I can't believe this." Her face looked ready to crack with emotion, and with the drowned features, it was just too frightening.

Though they brought terrible news, Bella had to admit she was glad to see the werewolves… or what remained of them. She couldn't deal with the deaths of the others, especially not Jacob's. It just made her feel sick. She didn't want to hear any more bad news, though Sam guaranteed he had plenty. The other three wolves changed back to human form too, though not exactly to tell her they were glad she was alive. She was surprised to see the two Clearwaters – Seth was still very young to her, and Leah… Leah was rare; females were never werewolves. The girl actually spat on her, but Bella didn't care. If it wouldn't be too weird, she would have spat on herself, too. So after the initial small talk when they were all human and vampire, there was a long silence, like an unannounced minutes silence for all the dead. But there wasn't complete silence. Bella could hear their every breath, their every heartbeat… and something else.

It took her a minute to pin the wolf the sound came from, but eventually, she realized it was Leah.

"Leah." She whispered, eyes wide. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She snapped back quietly, brown eyes gleaming with hatred.

"No…" Bella said, realizing that it was urgent. "Everyone stop breathing, don't make a sound, except Leah!" She hissed. Though none of them were sure why, they all obliged. And she heard it properly. Though she couldn't stop the other's heartbeats to narrow in on the sound, she could hear it clearly enough. The sound of a failing heart, the veins and arteries around it, weakened with stress were heartbeats from breaking.

"Oh my God…" Sam breathed, standing up, uselessly, walking toward Leah as though to do something. And then, as Leah looked around them, worried and confused, unknowing what was happening, her heart stopped.

**AN: **

**Heyy (:  
Sorry about this chapter, twas a bit sad, in my opinion. I don't think that they'll be this bad again,, well, I'll try make them better. Review, please? I got a biiit of interest on the last chapter, but no reviews ):**

**I've written… 5 & ½ chapters already, & I'll try my best to update them every day or so. That doesn't mean that I don't want suggestions or questions etc., (: anything will be appreciated and answered to :P**

**Thankyouuu! x **


	3. Leaving Home

Chapter 3

**Leaving Home**

Edward leaned back against the wall, staring at the plain white wall opposite. It didn't need paint to dry on it for him to watch it, it was interesting enough dry. It was his own blank canvas. And blank it would remain. Memories chased each other across the wall, merging into smiles and frowns as the day passed. Surely forever is too long a time to remember everything, but as a vampire, he would remember nonetheless; every day, every hour, every minute of his life as an immortal. But compared with memories of Bella, memories of forever paled, weakened in his mind. There was no point to forever without her.

He remembered all the seconds he was with her, all the important parts of their relationship. When he had taken her to the meadow… it was unreal how anxious he had been. It was odd that he had cared so much what that human girl would think of him, how she would feel when exposed to his affections. How it had bothered him not knowing how she felt about him – when they were in the restaurant, Bella Italia, it was awful not knowing – how she'd react. It made him question how _he_ felt, too. Could he dare vying for her attention? Would she be repelled when she knew the truth? The fact that she _wasn't_ repelled had meant a lot to him. More than he cared to admit, when she was still…

Surely the scent of her blood would be more of a reason to kill her, not love her. He had never thought of himself as incredibly patient, so shouldn't the confusion toward her impenetrable mind have been a reason to kill her, get the frustration of unknowing out of his mind? She shouldn't have survived as long as she did in his presence. The fact that she was no longer here was proof. He had been kept alive to hurt, to _kill_, one way or another. It didn't matter that he hadn't drank her blood or simply killer her personally, her blood was on his hands.

He could feel waves of Jasper's calm, willing him to relax. The waves reminded him of the sea at La Push, of a cold, dead body lying at the bottom; ice on her heart and tears on her soul, he shut out the calm. He shut out everything. If he couldn't sleep, this was the next best thing. Emptying his mind of everything, sinking into an unmoving, unthinking bliss.

Rosalie sighed at her magazine. She wasn't really reading a Nikki Reed interview, she wasn't checking her horoscope… she was thinking. She wasn't very close to Edward – not as close as Alice was to him – but she still felt for him. They had both became vampires in the same era, and at one point they both resented it. He wouldn't believe her if she told him that she missed Bella too, so she didn't, but she _worried_ about him. Before the… incident, he had stayed in his room for the majority of the six months they were away from Forks. Now, when Bella was gone _forever, _he was out and about a bit more. Not so much that it was healthy, but more, at least. It may have _seemed_ like an improvement, but Rosalie wasn't fooled. She may be no psychic like Alice, but she could pick up on these things, and she knew something bad was going to happen. She had asked Alice, but the tiny vampire brushed away her worries, saying that she couldn't see anything. She had spoken to Jasper, but he said he couldn't feel any suicidal feelings from Edward.

She closed the magazine, and stared at the glossy human faces staring back at her. She wondered if the model on the front page had ever lost anything important to her. She wondered if the woman had even lost her parents. Perhaps not, but what if she had been in love with someone so dear to her heart, and they had left her? What if blades and heights had once been tempting to the perfect woman? Was she stronger than Bella for surviving, or weaker? Had she jumped, sliced the skin, would another troubled human be staring back up at Rosalie Hale? And the celebrities inside the magazine, they would go out, get drunk, experiment with drugs, become pregnant with unwanted children, abort the children or resent the mistake forever. They would sleep it off with a happy dream, never think more of the unwanted child.

The couch pillows bounced beneath her, and an arm snaked around her shoulders. Soft lips placed a kiss on her cheek, and a large, yet gentle finger lifted her chin. She stared into golden eyes, similar to hers and the rest of her families', yet different to her. Those models, the celebrities with their perfect, human lives, they would never have Emmett Cullen.

A tentative knock, and then she opened the door. Edward was leaning against the wall, his eyes dancing miserably across the wall opposite. It took him a moment to smile at her, push the happiness into place, but once he did, the smile looked awful. Cracked, and too forceful. "Rosalie?" He asked politely, impersonally. The normal Edward would have glowered at her and asked what the hell she was wanting.

"Lose the smile, I've not got Bella with me," She snapped, and sat down beside him. He lost the smile instantly, whether by command, or by hearing the human's name, she didn't know.

"What do you want?" He asked sullenly.

"What do _you_ want?" She countered.

He stared at her, scowling. "What do you mean? Currently… I want rid of you,"

"How nice," She grinned, knowing this wasn't false. "I mean, in your future? What do you want that could make you happy?"

"Nothing."

"You want Bella." He didn't nod, or shake his head. In fact, he seemed to ignore her, forget she was there. "You want a dead human girl. The very same human girl you left behind in your fast paced life, well aware that when you left, you were leaving her to die."

He turned to look at her suddenly, not angrily, but devoid of any emotion. The expression frightened her. It was the expression that showed her he didn't care anymore, confirmed her concerns. "It was too soon for her. She shouldn't have died so young."

"How can we, immortals, define time and age? I may be too young to die, yet if I died now, it would be late. When we have no concept of life in our own lives, we have no right to judge it in others." She shrugged, though she agreed with him. Bella had wasted her opportunity to live the way Rosalie couldn't. Though she loved being beautiful and young forever, she still searched and wished for a wrinkle in her perfect skin. A flaw of age.

"It is my fault she died…" Edward continued on, as though Rosalie hadn't spoken. He _had_ heard, though, she knew.

"Edward, if you had stayed with that girl till her dying day in her eighties, her death then would _still_ be your fault. If you changed her, her death would be your fault. If you had killed her upon meeting her: your fault. If we had _left_ before she knew you, it would still boil down to being your fault. And there was nothing you could do about it. It was in your heart to pursue her, and you know that the only way to change a frozen object is to chip or shatter it…"

"You mean break it," He said bluntly. "My heart will change once it has been broken. What about melting? Frozen objects change when melted."

"Not with fire, but with love."

"But, fire will work, too." He said calmly.

"Perhaps. But what do you plan to do? Burn a hole into your heart? Give yourself heartburn?" She smiled slightly at the joke. "Or just kill yourself."

"Maybe," He sighed, watching the wall again.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"You won't be with her, you realize." Rosalie watched his expression for emotion, perhaps a flash of acceptance or confusion, but there was none. He knew her tactics all too well. "She'll be in heaven, poor innocent human, and you'll be in hell… or, of course, you'll be a ghost, watching this world with absolutely no influence."

"I won't be either," He said, "I won't exist. I won't feel the pain of hell and the loss of what soul may live in heaven. I won't feel helplessness on earth, wishing I could make you listen to me. I will be ashes, if I'm lucky. Ashes that will sit in a hideous vase on the mantelpiece until they get knocked down by Emmett throwing a tantrum at a games console. Then I shall reside in the bottom of a bin." He smiled.

"Or you'll miss all that, and we'll just bin you." Rosalie laughed. He just shrugged. "…So, you want to die?"

"I don't know yet."

"Well, what else will you do?"

"You don't care that I'm contemplating suicide?" He asked, not surprised, but perhaps relieved.

"I can't stop you," She shrugged.

"Alice cares – she's got me on 'watch'." Edward sighed, and Rosalie cursed under her breath. She hated when the pixie kept secrets from her. "It's nice to know someone's on my side." His smile was watery, but true.

"I'm not on your 'side', I just said there's nothing I can do to stop you if you choose to kill yourself."

"Would you kill yourself if anything were to happen to Emmett?" He asked, and Rosalie flinched.

"That's not a fair question," she said defensively. "But… I might."

He nodded slowly, thinking. "What else _will_ I do?" He whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.

"You won't hide how you feel. You won't hide from us. You won't forget, but this blip won't rule you." She slung an arm over his shoulder and squeezed him tightly. "And you will give your sisters your credit cards for a while… just so… you don't go buying bonfire kits, or hire a vampire assassin." She stood up, ready to go. "Oh yes, and you will hate me again. I can't deal with the sibling stuff, especially not from you." She turned and walked to the door.

"Rosalie?" She turned around again to see a hint of a proper smile on Edward's face. "Thank you."

She left the room silently.

He decided to go to Italy. More specifically, the Volturi. Alice couldn't spy on them with her visions, and she couldn't predict his true reasons. He told her that he was going so he could have a new start, doing something for the Volturi. He was highly valued by them, no doubt, and to dim the family's judgement of his choice of future, he told them that he was going to do something with the Volturi that would support families – or covens – like theirs, or help victims of vampire attacks. Because that's basically what the Volturi did; they were like vampire royalty and police all in one, yet there was normally a cruel streak. They were known to be unforgiving, and often tyrants.

Of course, the whole lie was only for the Cullens. They were going to kill him, mercifully, or as a punishment. Rosalie gave him a knowing look as he told them of his travels, and she shrugged, ever so slightly. _Your choice. Maybe see you one day, on the other side._ She believed in an afterlife for vampires, at least. He shook his head imperceptibly._ Miss you_. She sighed in her mind, before turning away and focusing on her mirror image.

The airport was fairly empty; there were hardly any humans to notice him. He wouldn't be anything unusual, though; he wasn't sullen or morbid, he still wore the same smile he had given Rosalie, the smile of somebody set free. He was noticed, though.

"Oh, the opportunity of waiting in long, boring lines makes me smile, too!" A voice chirped beside him. He turned slightly to see a small, young blonde by his elbow. The smile on her face was too bright; sarcasm… he hoped. She laughed when she saw his confused expression. "Sorry. I forget that strangers don't know how weird I am."

"That's okay, I'll be away from you soon."

"Depends. Where are you going?"

"New York."

"Oh, wow! Me too! Anywhere after that?"

"Not the same flight as you," He sighed, shooting her an angry glance, which she missed. Just to be sure he wasn't stuck with this mood killer; he checked her destination in her head. Though she looked fairly normal on the outside, her mind was a web of confusion. Having dealt with minds like hers before, he decided it was an illness, but he deciphered that she too, was on holiday to Italy. Another voice, a man's voice in her mind was declaring that she was not travelling to Italy, but to France. And then she wasn't sure herself. On the outside, her internal argument appeared only in a fade of a smile.

"That wasn't nice. Where about are you going, anyway?"

"…Italy."

"Wow, same!"  
_Italy. We're going to Italy. We booked Italy, and this handsome guy is going to Italy.  
We're going to France. I don't like the handsome man. We don't like him._

The thoughts were calm, like she expected they were being read, but also a jumble, with the other voice speaking simultaneously.

"Well that's just great," Edward groaned, wondering how he was going to bear hearing the double-annoying thoughts throughout the whole journey. She pouted.

"What's your name?" She asked him hopefully.

"Edward." He said in a way that ended the conversation. He couldn't deal with her extra happiness, not when his felt so…wrong.

"Oh, okay, Edward. I'll… go." She said dejectedly, finally giving up on the conversation as she began walking away. "…But the line's kind of… here." She said, bouncing back beside him on her toes. "We're called – I mean, I'm called Rachel."  
The other voice in her head protested to being ignored; it's – _his_ – name was Blayne. Blayne and Rachel – a twin and a lamb. That made sense, in a sick sort of way.

"We can see you're in a bit of a bad mood, Edward. I mean, _I_ can see you're in a bad mood. Hah, it's not like they're two of me! That'd be fabulous! Have you ever seen the 'Parent Trap'? I would _love_ to be a twin." She started, becoming cheery again. He decided to ignore her, unable to deal with her and her problems, so soon to his end. "…So… the name Edward… how'd you get that? It's a bit ancient, isn't it? Can't I call you Eddie? Or Ed?"

"Look, you see that guy, up there? He looks bored. Go talk to him." Edward said, smiling falsely.

"That's called 'queue jumping' and it's not polite, Eddie." She said, then recoiled at his glare. "So you don't like to be Ed, or Eddie? Okay, Edward, I'm sorry. So… why are you going to Italy?"

"Look, I'm not really up for having a conversation on my way there, so…"

"We're not actually _travelling_ now… I'm going to Italy to escape. My brother, Blayne wants to go to France, so I'm thinking that if I go to Italy, he'll go to France, and I'll be free." She sighed, sounding like she was talking about a troubling child.

"I'm running away from vampires." Edward stated, throwing in his own bunch of crazy. Maybe, ironically, she would think _he_ was insane and leave him alone.

Instead of giving the expected reaction; laughter, a confused, sceptical expression, she paled, her eyes wide. "Wha- what? You've met them too?" She gasped. He then realized what he'd done. He was fuelling her delusions, making her think she'd found proof of some random hallucination. "They're all… diamond skin, and… red eyes…" She shuddered. "Blayne didn't believe me. I was just little when I met them and he said that the stress of losing Mom and Dad was making me crazy… he was old then, eighteen. He was already messed up, way before they died, deep in the world of drugs. He's okay now, though. But the vampires, I won't ever forget them. How do you know about them?" She said, seeming to feel perfectly fine, pouring out her personal life to a stranger. There was only one voice in her head, 'Blayne' appeared to be keeping silent. Hearing about her vampire encounter made Edward slightly interested, though not necessarily more interested in hearing about _her._

By delving into her strange mind, he found out that the real Blayne, her real brother was dead. The vampires, still unidentified, had killed him. Though really, it was good riddance. Faced with his annoying little sister's horrors and depression, he ignored it, yelling at her, never listening to her, never comforting her. He had created her broken mind, and implanted himself in it in the form of trauma, another voice in her head. He suddenly felt sorry for her, knowing that vampires often caused problems in families, and decided that if he was going to die soon, there was nothing wrong with having company, even if it was kind of crazy. It would take his mind off of darker memories, thinking about hers. Plus, he couldn't find it in himself to brush off such a damaged person. He shuddered, thinking of the past, both his own and hers.

"A long time ago. Though I wasn't that much younger. It feels like forever ago…" He smiled, remembering his family, back at home. "Only, I met different ones… they weren't murderers. I kind of liked them." He _loved_ them, really, but he was cautious of the fact that he was talking to a human, traumatized by vampires unlike him and his family.

"Really?" Rachel asked, puzzled.

He nodded. "They were like family."

"So why are you running away from them?" She said, though she still didn't get the fact that he liked the vampires – he wondered how she would react, knowing he _was_ a vampire himself.

"I don't want to see them again. That's all I'm saying." He said quickly, aware that anything else he said Alice could probably see, or it would intrigue Rachel. Coincidentally, she sat next to him on the plane. He pretended to be asleep for most of it, but dark thoughts would creep up, so normally they talked about her.


	4. Death in Her Form

Chapter 4

**Death In Her Form. **

Bella was back in her cave the night after seeing the wolves, once again sobbing tearlessly. The amount of deaths around her was unexplainable. Not always even the bad ones; Victoria's death was unusual, how the knife had managed to point up to cut into her skin perfectly. Charlie… Charlie shouldn't have died. The bullet would never have bounced directly back at him, and if so, not fast enough to kill him. Jacob had died trying to save her. Leah had died just being around her.

A couple of rats ran past the mouth of the cave; their breaths and footprints sounded like giant's in Bella's ears. She focused on one, noticing everything about it – its matted, dark fur, how it was missing two toes on one foot, its eye infection. Though it didn't look at her, it seemed to wither under her gaze, slow down like its legs were heavy. As the other one ran ahead, the one she stared at seemed pinned in place. Suddenly, an owl swooped by and picked it up, a living, immobile meal. Horrified but curious, she touched a mound of moss growing at her side, and concentrated on its death. It shrivelled and browned from her touch. It died. The spiders and insects deep in the cave, they would probably die too, if she thought about it, but she didn't want to carry on killing things pointlessly.

Edward, Alice and Jasper all had vampiric powers, talents carried on from their human lives. Perhaps she had found her own power. But she hadn't ever had the talent of 'death', not to bring it to a power as a vampire. Or had she? She hadn't exactly been living when Victoria had found her. Well, not much. Would that count for anything? Either way, she must have had the ability – or curse – of being able to kill things, intentionally or not. Because she hadn't wanted Charlie, Jacob or Leah's deaths. It was something she would have to be careful of, until she figured it out entirely; though it wasn't exactly a power she could test.

Until then, she _still_ had to find her new self. Would her power affect who she would be? Would she become a creature who saw death, defeat to be impossible? Would she become careless, lazy, reassured that any opposition would be killed?

She could choose _not_ to be that vampire. And she wouldn't be. Though she hardly knew this new power, she already detested it. She could decide to be a hermit, a cave vampire, you could say. Never forming contacts or relationships with anyone – _anything –_ else.

She could go give the Cullens a visit…

She smiled at the thought, though it wasn't a serious idea at all. She wouldn't do that to any of them. Well, maybe except Rosalie. After all, she had given up her human life for them. And they had been given up. They didn't feature in her new life. They wouldn't feature in her new life.

She wondered if they even knew she was dead.

Probably not. Who would care to contact them? Charlie was the only one who would have thought of them, though he would have known they wouldn't care at all. Thinking of Charlie made her feel ill, sad beyond despair, and brought on another wave of dry tears.

Though she was shaking and weeping at just the thought, Bella chose to go home, to Charlie's house. Before she could move on, she had to close the lid on the past. She crept quickly through the forests of Forks, her face covered with her hair, and her newly acquired knife – which might actually be useless in the light of her new power – was concealed, though she had no desire to use it. It was a fairly short trip, she ran at vampire speed most of the time. It was surprisingly easy to find her house from all the smells she could recognize there. Though she had never smelt Jacob as a vampire, she could smell his scent like he was there with her. It made her sad, but no worse than the state she was already in. Charlie was easily identified by his usual aftershave and deodorant scent. She could smell her human self there, too, which felt strange.

She snuck into the garden, and scaled the wall to her old room window. She saw how easy it was for Edward to get inside her room as she eased the window open and jumped inside. It was exactly as she had left it before leaving to go to La Push; the clothes she was supposed to put in the wash basket were still on her bed, the homework essay she had to do for over spring break still lay undone on her desk, her rocking chair still sat in the corner of the room, lonely and cold. She walked over to it, feeling numb. It was where Charlie had sat when he told her bedtime stories as a child. It had been a fascination to her as a child – a chair that rocks! – and it had been where Edward had sat when he appeared in her room. His shadow seemed to sit there like a phantom of the past, so she erased it by sitting down on the rocking chair herself. She looked around her room from it, seeing the room in an old, yet new perspective. The room seemed too young for a seventeen – alright, she had to admit it, eighteen – year old girl.  
She dragged the rocking chair to sit in front of her desk, and she did the homework there.

Once she had finished the essay – to a more than acceptable standard, she thought – she continued to look around the room, looking at all the things that used to be daily for her. She unplugged her alarm clock for good, made her bed, and changed out of the ridiculous hospital gown. Though it wasn't connected in any way, when she picked up her purse, she remembered that as a vampire, her image would have changed and that she had never seen it. Alice would have scolded her something awful. She looked into the mirror, and fell back in horror. She was like no vampire she'd ever seen – she didn't even recognize herself. Her skin was very pale, paler than any of the Cullen's had been. She had beautiful features, and although she hated to feel vain, she had to admit, she was equal to Rosalie for looks, if not better. But they were the pretty things. Her proportion and placement were perfect… her eyes weren't what she expected. She knew she wouldn't have amazing golden eyes immediately, that they would be red at first, but they _weren't_ red, not really. They were faded, not exactly pink, but a very washed out, grey red. And her lips! They were a light blue, the colour someone's lips would be after drowning or suffocation... She looked dead; like if she had wet hair and some seaweed, she'd look like she'd just walked out of the sea. But she'd decided not to be a vain person, so she let it go, with an uneasy shrug, though she did pick up one of her old lip colour palettes, just to cover the blue.

A fleeting thought filled her mind; what if the Cullens _had_ heard about her? What if they came back, to check that she was finally gone? With a last glance around the room; erasing it from memory, she left the house again. But she knew she wasn't done. Her past was still strong in her mind, unable to be dislodged by a simple visit home. But she didn't know what else would. Maybe the past wasn't supposed to be forgotten, it was something she was going to have to live with, to learn from. She walked down the street rather than the forest, taking her time to see it again. Then, when she reached the corner, she sighed, knowing what she had to do. She stepped into the phone box, cringing at the awful smell and graffiti left inside it by God knows who. Calling emergency services was free, so she dialled 911 and asked for the police.

"I have some information about a missing ambulance helicopter, I know where it is." She said gruffly, willing her voice not to crack.

"Okay, can you give us any identification and proof?" The surly voice said.

"Does it make any difference? You'll still go check, and you'd be smart to. There are no survivors; I know that for a fact." She sighed, before listing off the directions and details to the helicopter her dead father lay in.

"Miss, we can't accept this claim until we have identification-" She hung up on him, certain that they would check it out anyway. She felt a little lighter in heart, though the horror was still there. She ducked her head and continued to walk on. She walked all through the night, slinking into the shadows of the wild before sunrise. She then wandered to the meadow Edward had taken her to, as if by whim. It was only her third time there, but it still felt special to her, even alone. The last time she had been there, she had met Laurent, who was going to kill her, rather than give her to Victoria. She knew she wouldn't meet any vampires this time, and if she did, they were no trouble. She walked around the circle of trees, steadily taking in memories. She felt like her life had become too fast recently, like a train she was too late for. She was lagging behind in her own life, unsure what to do next. All the talk about forgetting her past, finding new self, they were just hopes, thinking that if she followed them, things would get better, she'd find her feet again. She hadn't. She didn't have a clue what to do.

Eternity meant nothing.

She sat down in the centre of the meadow, and just like when she was with Edward, the sun was out. Her skin hardly sparkled; it was nowhere near as beautiful as Edwards. In comparison to his diamond perfection, it seemed like she was only wearing a little body glitter. _A_ _dead vampire_. She grinned at the thought. _Does that mean I'm _alive_?_ Her smile faded. _Or just truly dead_.

She thought about Edward too much for someone who was trying to forget him. She wondered, as she often had as a human, whether he would want her if she was a vampire. If it really was just a matter of difference, or if he truly didn't like her anymore. And if he _did_ still care for him, did she still want _him_? She was brand new, beautiful in a horrific way, and had forever to find another vampire. Plus, she couldn't bear to hold her heart open specifically for him, weeping and waiting for him to return to her. She'd spent her last human months doing that.

If she was honest with herself, she didn't really care about love, there and then, or anytime in the future. Friendship, or even just _someone else _in her life, sure, but love wasn't a concern. And just like that, she could smell someone else. It was a human, oddly enough, and they were bleeding. She bit down on her strange blue lip, restraining the hunger in her throat. She hadn't fed since the deer, before meeting the werewolves, and as a newborn, her restraint was still weak. She managed to hold still, waiting for the human to pass.

For all she knew, they could have been injured. She knew from experience; hiking through the forests wasn't easy. Even still, the person would be even more injured if she appeared near them. It was all on the human to save his or herself. The human didn't fade, in fact, they seemed to come nearer, only slowly, though. Bella wanted to get up and leave, but she knew that her muscles had locked, and if she unlocked them there was a danger she'd run toward the glorious scent of blood. Her throat screeched in protest, like the scent was clawing at it, tearing the flesh away painfully, her stomach churned in anticipation, expecting a meal that it wasn't going to get. The human drew nearer still, until Bella could hardly take it. Her eyes darted around the clearing, expecting movement, like that would allow her to kill guiltlessly. Suddenly, quicker than she had smelled and expected, a woman burst through the trees, gasping in pain, clutching her arm where blood pooled between her fingers. Bella had somehow managed to move back into the shadows, using the only non-volatile joints she owned at that moment, her hands and wrists.

The woman's eyes were glazed with unshed tears of agony, and it took her a few moments to focus on her surroundings. Her eyes suddenly locked on Bella's form, and she cried out in relief. "Oh, thank _God_! I thought I was going to die of pain out here! Do you think you can… help at all?" She asked, gesturing toward her bloody arm. "I broke it not long ago… Doctor told me not to go on forest walks, guess he was right after all. I fell and impaled it on a broken branch, hah!" She said, smiling, though she must have been suffering. "I don't know why it hurts so bad, and of course, I can't move it to wrap it or clean it…" She trailed off, confused that Bella hadn't replied or moved since she had been seen.

Bella realized she was staring at the woman's arm, where the blood had stained her jumper, and leaked through still, but she couldn't help it. It was bright red, and still looked warm. There seemed to be nothing wrong with having a taste… She closed her eyes, and shook her head quickly, dispelling the horrible thoughts. "I- I can't help you." She croaked, ducking her head.

The woman stared at her, surprised and annoyed. "Don't you have a phone?" She asked. Bella shook her head. "Can't you move my arm a little while I try clean it?" She asked, irritated. Bella shook her head again.

"I'm sorry," She whispered. "I know that the easiest way out of the forest is just that way," She pointed to her left.

"You selfish little madam!" The woman cried, distressed. "I can't walk all the way home, or to a phone booth, not in this state!"

"What if I wasn't here?" Bella asked, letting a little venom into her voice. She might not have been there. It was bad luck that had brought her.

"Yes, but you _are_ here, and you can help me," The woman persisted. "Don't you have a heart?"

"My heart is the only thing stopping me from helping you. You have no idea how wrong my help would be."

The woman groaned, and eased herself to sit on the grass. She had her back to Bella, as a sign of great dislike, at least. She grabbed her broken arm's elbow with the working one, and tried to ease it away from her body. She shrieked loudly, and fell back onto the ground, stamping her feet on the grass to distract herself from the pain. She leant her head right back so she could _just_ see Bella, and tears streamed up into her hairline. "Please," She moaned, closing her eyes so no more tears could escape.

Bella closed her eyes again, and sighed, knowing what she was going to do. She couldn't just sit there, knowing the woman was in serious pain. Though she knew that many things could go wrong, and without a doubt, would go wrong. She could give in to the pull of the blood. She could scare the woman enough with her appearance for her to _have_ to kill the woman. Actually, she half expected the woman to die of 'natural causes' from being near her. But, whatever happened, she couldn't just sit and watch. Something had to happen. She stood up, and walked slowly toward the woman, keeping her muscles tense. Without going too close, she could already see the problem. A piece of wood from the branch was still in the wounded arm, digging right into muscle, and possibly a nerve.

"…There's still wood in it," Bella choked, walking back into the shadows as the woman opened her eyes again.

"Really?" She leaned over it, looking at the stained shirt. "I can't see a thing. Help me tear the shirt off it?"

Gulping, Bella nodded. "I will. But I need you to close your eyes again, and not to look. There's a reason I'm hiding in the forest." She didn't want a hysterical, scared bleeding woman.

"Whatever, just help me!" The woman cried. She shut her eyes, and Bella walked toward her, focusing her thoughts to want the woman to live. She didn't know if that was how her power worked, but it might. For lack of a peg for her nose, she puckered her lips underneath her nose, partly blocking the scent. She couldn't close her eyes, though. To her, skin was as easy to tear as clothing, and she couldn't afford to mistake them. She nervously touched the fabric of the woman's white shirt, seeing how the blood made a poppy on the sleeve. The dark circle in the middle, then the larger circle of red around it. Quickly, she grabbed the shoulder of the shirt and tore it away around the top, before dragging it down the arm swiftly. She then threw it to the other side of the woman, away from her.

"What sort of hill walker doesn't bring a cell phone?" She asked. "Especially with a broken arm?"

"Sally Renfield, that's who." The woman, Sally, panted. "I shouldn't even be out here. Who, and _what_ lurks around in forests?"

"Reluctant Samaritans." Bella said, grimacing, knowing it was better not to give a name.

"Okay… Do you think you could take the wood out for me, too? I can't bear the thought of more blood, reaching into my own skin for it," Sally said, shuddering though the motion moved her arm a little.

"Me neither, but I'll _try_ helping you," Bella said, running out of stored oxygen. She would have to breathe again soon, before speaking again. She disengaged her mind from her hand's actions as she touched the bleeding skin. She made her fingers crawl over air, away from the gore inside the puncture wound, until she got to the chunk of wood, when she quickly snatched it out and threw it as far as vampire strength would allow.

"I can take you to the edge of the forest, but that's it," Bella told Sally - perhaps arrogantly - deciding she could carry the human, bleeding woman the distance back to civilization. She felt dedicated to helping Sally now, partly because she hadn't yet died while being around Bella, but partly because it was a success. She hadn't conquered bloodlust, but she had avoided it. And she couldn't leave the tired woman alone to try get home. Her arm was bandaged up with part of her shirt, and a sling was made from Bella's sleeves for her broken arm. She managed to hoist Sally onto her back, smiling at the familiarity of the situation. "Don't open your eyes, you'll feel sick," She warned, and then started running. She thought of Edward carrying her back, running as fast as he could, and sighed. That was up in her mind with her best memories; it felt like the start of their relationship, that day in the meadow. Though really, it could have just been a lie.

Sally wasn't young – she wasn't old either – and she wasn't light, but it didn't bother Bella, she still felt relatively light. She wasn't very pretty; small grey eyes, and her other features crowded her face, making it look like they squashed her eyes in. Her cheeks were chubby and freckled, making her look childish, which didn't go well with her mature blonde bob haircut. But though she wasn't very attractive, there was something strange about her, something that _made_ her pretty anyway. It had to be soul. Sally was probably kind hearted, and it shone through. Though she must have been incredibly curious as to Bella's appearance and her reasons for being in the forest, she didn't ask, and Bella was sure she hadn't peeked.

But there was something off. Bella felt like she was missing something, something that could be important. But she didn't _have_ anything important. All she had was her purse, lip colours to cover the blue, and Victoria's vampire knife…  
She knew what it was. She couldn't feel the knife at the back of her jeans. Just then, she felt it at her neck. Sally had been lying. Her arm wasn't broken. She could move it, and hold a knife against Bella's throat. Bella stopped immediately, surprised. "I'll get off here, vampire," Sally said sweetly, though she held onto Bella tighter. Several more shapes appeared through the shadowed haze of trees. "Miss Swan, if you'd like to come with us?" Sally still didn't sound malicious, and that's what was frightening.

**Okayy, sorry, I didn't have an AN last chapter… I know that's nooooo problem to most of you, but it makes me feel disconnected from you (few) readers, ifya know what I mean :P I meannnt to thank… ****Cwinche**** and ****kate****, your reviews reaaaally cheered me up :D**

**Soo.. we can see now that the two storylines are splitting… don't worry,, they'll come together again… maaaybe ;)**

**What do you think so far? R&R? Muchly appreciated :D have any suggestions? I have a plotline, but it's still…mmmhya. Additional ideas, I'd laaaaaav :D**

**Loveyaaas :D x**


	5. End of the Line

Chapter 5

**End Of The Line**

"…So really, I don't think there's anything wrong with zoos, cause the animals really don't seem to mind…" A trilling, annoying voice said. Edward opened his eyes, and blinked a few times, just to seem human. He had spent the past hour listening to the sound of Rachel Moor's voice, squawking about silly, inconsequential things. He wondered if she had believed that he was asleep. "Oh, hey, you're up!" She chirped. "I was just talking to…" She leaned over him to look at the air hostess who had taken the seat next to him, to rest her legs. "Bethany. Yeah, I was telling Bethany about that zoo I told you about? Remember? The great one with the tigers and lions…"

"Sure," He _did_ remember, unfortunately. The air hostess - who wasn't actually called Bethany; she had just borrowed her friend's nametag since the one that said 'Mavis' was missing – looked at him sullenly, as though she blamed _him_ for Rachel's incessant chatter.

"It's a great story, isn't it, Mavis?" He asked, deciding that it didn't matter if he scared her a little. She seemed taken aback, but mumbled something incoherent and walked away.

"I think you annoyed her. You _do_ know her name's Bethany, right? I bet she's pretty insulted. She even has the name tag! Poor Beth." Rachel sighed.

"Where are we?" Edward asked. He knew that they had left America; Rachel had managed to get a seat beside him on the flight from New York, too.

"Just over the UK, I think… you know, I _always_ know when there's something that has to do with the UK. Like now, we're flying over it. Like when I see all those famous British things, I just _know,_ y'know?" Of course, judging by the time they had been in the plane, and the speed he picked out from the pilot's mind, they were actually over _France_. Not long till Florence now, at least.

"What did the vampires you saw look like?" He asked abruptly, taking her by surprise.

For once, she seemed hesitant about speaking. In her mind, Blayne laughed loudly, mocking her for believing vampires existed. _Vampires don't exist, Rach. _He chided, like from a memory.  
Another memory floated into her mind, replaying the scene where the vampires attacked a man, ripping him to shreds and drinking his blood, and Rachel started crying internally. She smiled shakily on the outside, though. "Well… there were three of them. One, the woman, had long, wild red hair. There was a guy with dirty blonde hair and another guy with black hair…" It _would_ be Victoria, James and Laurent. "Why? Are they like the ones you're running from?"

"No. I know that one of them is dead. I've met them."

Rachel gasped. _Luuuunatic,_ Blayne laughed, and surprisingly, that was the thought that Rachel voiced. "You're a lunatic." She stated, then gasped again. "I am_ so_ sorry! I- I don't know why I said that!" She cried out, horrified at herself. "I _honestly_ don't think you're crazy. I think I'm crazy, but that's just me. You? _You_, are not crazy, Edward."

He had checked in her mind to see if she knew about her mental state, but she didn't appear to have a clue. She knew that other people told her she was crazy, or weird, but she hadn't taken it into account properly. And he couldn't find it in her head what made her think she was crazy. "Why do you think you're crazy?"

She paused, again, thinking. "Okay, I trust you Edward. I don't know why… but I do, and by telling you this, I know you won't tell anyone else, okay?" Strange place to be revealing secrets, on a busy aeroplane. "Well, I've been researching about vampires a lot, since… what happened, and… I found this one place, where there's an elite group of vamps. So I thought about it, and I've decided that to stop my brother not believing me, and to make sure that I don't witness things like… that again, the best course of action is to either become a vampire myself, or kill the lot of them." She smiled conspiringly. "You say you know about vampires, you don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

He didn't in one sense, about vampires existing, but he did in another. She wanted to be a vampire, just for the sake of it? Bella had wanted to be a vampire… for him. But that had been a – thoughtless, yet caring – reason. And _killing off_ all the vampires? Definitely not. He shook his head. "But being a vampire… it must be difficult. I mean, the vampires you saw… how do you stop yourself from becoming like that?"

"I know I won't." She shrugged.

"Ok, so you're going to the Volturi"- unfortunately – "To see if they'll change you into a vampire?" Edward laughed disbelievingly. "You know that this isn't a hairdressers appointment to change you into a popular girl. They won't do it, I'm certain."

"How do you know what the group's called?" She asked, stunned. Instead of trying to cover up his mistake, he just sighed at his own stupidity. They were nearly in Italy anyway, and he'd be able to disappear to Volterra, and be gone before she even found the place. "Oh my good God, you're going to them too, aren't you?!" She said. "Are you wanting to be a vampire as well?" He couldn't actually believe that she hadn't realized that she was actually talking to a vampire. "_Why_ are you going? Don't lie, because I _know_ you are!"

"I'm not," He tried, but even though he was great at lying, Rachel already had it in her mind that he was, and she wasn't budging on it.

"You're lying to me," She whispered, suddenly tearing up. "I've told you the truth so much today, I've revealed so much that I shouldn't have, and you won't even tell me one little truth!"

"If I tell you, you'll never leave me alone." He sighed.

"Well?! It's called a conversation!" She yelled, disturbing a lot of people on the plane.

"I'm not going to tell you. It's a very long story." He said, ignoring the large, crocodile tears that were threatening to pour down her face. It was a bad situation to get into with a mentally unstable person.

"Well… I'm sure we still have a while left…" She mumbled.

"Okay, I want to be a vampire too," He said, rolling his eyes quickly.

"_Really_?!" She cried ecstatically. "We could go through it together! Like, we could help each other survive, form our own little coven!"

"No, we're not." He sighed, and closed his eyes again. There was nothing wrong with remembering Bella for another little while, to avoid talking himself into a corner.

He wondered what Bella would think of his decision. She wouldn't like it in the slightest; he remembered how she reacted when he had discussed it with her, on her birthday. That had been their last day together properly, when she still thought she was loved. He then thought about how dreadful it had been on their last few days together. How he had to pretend not to care for her, how he had to ignore her as much as possible. He hadn't even been able to reassure her, when he saw the pain and fear in her eyes, as she helplessly watched him tear their relationship apart. He wished, once again, that it hadn't even happened, that he hadn't even decided to leave. It wasn't like Jasper had _wanted_ to attack her, and that she was in danger from him all the time. And what had happened with James hadn't been a terrible burden on them. It was worth saving her; they didn't do it because they _had_ to, but because they wanted to.

He wasn't exactly in a hurry to get to Volterra, he just wanted to be there before Rachel got there, or before Alice figured out what he was really doing. He hired a car, the fastest one available, nonetheless. Then, he was off, black Mercedes roaring down the road, toward the castled city. It was sunset, but fortunately the sun was clouded over, and even if it was very bright on him, the car's windows were tinted. And again, to pass the time, he thought about how Bella would feel. He had made a promise, though he could never have said he would stick to it. Was it wrong to break his promise, especially now that she was gone? And could he survive if he didn't? There was no point to life if he was just going to take it for granted, drifting through lifetimes carelessly. Killing a deer here, a mountain lion there, a human… did any virtues matter anymore?

Suddenly, a small figure walked out onto the road, far ahead. He was speeding, a lot faster than he had thought was necessary, and the city of Volterra was in view. He pressed down on the brakes, trying not to hit the person. Why were they out on the road, out here on the motorway? Surely they could see his car, why didn't they move? He was close enough to see the person in detail now; it was a small girl, not even in her teens. She was unimaginably beautiful, but she had red eyes… Volturi.

Just as he realized that, there was a loud bang on the top of his car, and a luminescent white face grinned devilishly at him through the top of the windscreen. He didn't swerve in surprise, which seemed to annoy the face; though, it was shadowed by a dark cloak, so the annoyance could have just been darkness. The window was shattered, glass spraying into the car, on his face, everywhere, but before he could move away from the attacker, his mind was enveloped in pain, stronger and more intense than anything else he had ever felt. It was like tiny needles into his mind, ones that slowly grew, biting into him. Soon it spread, so that everywhere hurt, but he could do nothing about it. It was like vampire venom, tenfold. A vampire should never feel paralysed out, but he did.

Jane smiled happily, eager to show her master what they had found. This was her most fortunate trip; they had been waiting on someone else, someone who could use human weapons with their mind, but this was better. Aro had told her plenty of stories about the golden eyed vampires, Carlisle and his 'family', and she knew that a lot of them had their own powers. And even if they didn't, one golden eyed vampire would be a good hostage for the others. Even still, she was _certain_ that this one was useful. "Really, Jane. Did we _have_ to do that?" They were going to Volterra anyway," Felix whined. He was as strongly built as a vampire ox, if there ever was one, but he hated her violence.

"Yes, but it's a catch, nonetheless. If he didn't stop in to visit, we'd have to catch him in the city." She grinned as Felix dumped the motionless vampire into their car.

"What about-" Felix started, but she knew what he was going to say, and cut him off.

"We don't need to bother with the telekinetic one. Do we vampires really need _human_ weapons?"

"It would be useful." Felix pouted.

"But not as useful as a psychic, or a telepath, or… what would you call the other one's power? Or being able to make enemies turn against each other, be afraid… change how they feel!"

"You're right, I suppose. But I still think that he was coming to see us anyway. I mean, he's alone, miles away from home, speeding toward Volterra. If he didn't want to see us, he would have missed the place out entirely."

"Shall I open the door and dump him out again?"Jane threatened. "Tell Aro that we got a great vampire, but poor Felix moaned over logic and morals?!" She paused for effect. "I didn't think so, let's go." She smirked.

They sped back to the city's high walls, and instead of entering the city, they walked around it, Felix carrying the Cullen. Every now and again, he would regain movement again, and Jane would zap him with her mind. He wasn't allowed to wake up now, not until they got to the castle. None but the Volturi were allowed to know the secret entryways to their castle. They got to a sewer pipe, and Felix grimaced, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Jane didn't care; the smell was just a small problem. She would never insult any of her masters' work, and the extra entrance was a great convenience. She went in first, putting one foot on the metal of the large pipe, and then reaching up to the trap door. Once inside, Felix passed her the Cullen, and though she was very small, she could keep hold of him. He was very handsome, but the sight of him annoyed her. He _had_ to live differently, sully the name of vampires. Vampires shouldn't care for human's wellbeing. Humans didn't care for the wellbeing of insects, so why should vampires care about humans? Humans wouldn't be frightened by this face on a hunt. They would fear Jane, she was sure of it. She would _make_ them. Felix suddenly popped up beside her, and sat down on the cool floor of the passage cave. He was wiping his hands on his cloak, pulling a horrified face.

"I think I got some on me!" He gasped, wiping his hands frantically. "On my feet as well!" He cried, and started wiping his feet on _Jane's_ cloak. She hissed angrily, and he stopped, surprised. "_Sorry_," He sneered. "Princess." She ignored him. Felix had been trying to act like her big brother for as long as she knew him. She knew he admired her skill, and wanted her to be at least friends with him, but he couldn't understand that Jane didn't _want_ friends. She wanted followers, her brother, and her masters. Except Marcus. There was really no need for him to be in charge.

Finally, Felix stood up, and took the Cullen from Jane and they began walking through the cave. It was just plain, dark brown bricks, but there were bloodstains throughout it. They often kept prisoners or meals in the cave, not at the same time, of course, they didn't feed prisoners. In fact, as they walked deeper, and the cave became too dark for human eyes, they could hear fast, laboured breathing. "I can hear you're here! You _have _to help me!" A human voice cried.

"No, help _us_!" Another screeched. Jane smiled again, feeling their pain. She zapped out with her mind, and a human nearby screamed in pain. Hearing the screech, the others cried out too, alarmed and worried. Jane laughed at their sheep-like instincts, and continued walking. They eventually reached the end, where the cave's door waited, ready to open to the actual castle.

Inside the castle was as luxurious as a king's. There were gold and jewels from over the years, and famous, lost artefacts. Why, the other week, Jane had used the Holy Grail as a pot to plant some new flowers – some Venus flytraps. Lost paintings littered the walls, along with drawings she and her brother had made when they were still young, new vampires, still the age they had been as humans.

The Cullen moved again, and Jane didn't zap him. Shocked and angry, he began lashing out at Felix, who dropped him like he was a fire, and then he was standing over Jane angrily, glaring a hole in her head. She smiled up at him. "Do you remember what I can do, Mr. Cullen?" She asked sweetly. He sighed angrily, but backed off a little. "What's your first name?" She smiled.

"What did you do to me?!" He asked.

"Oh… I simply let your mind think that you were in pain," She shrugged. "Again, what's your name? And are you coming to meet the masters or not?" She said.

"Edward," He snarled. Jane smiled quickly, letting the expression fade into boredom, before turning and walking down the hall. She knew Edward would follow, and he did, slowly, taking in his surroundings.

"Why did you… why did you _kidnap_ me? I was on my way here,"

"And where exactly is _here_?" Jane asked.

"The Volturi's castle, of course." He said.

"Right."

"So… again, why did you kidnap me?!"

"Fancied it," Jane said apathetically. They walked into the main hall briskly, Jane weaving between the other vampires that were standing around, talking and laughing. Only three vampires had chairs, and they sat in the middle. Aro, Caius and Marcus, the oldest vampires known to be alive, and it showed. Though she would never mean to insult her masters, Jane thought that they all looked a little like they'd been made out of papier-mâché. Their skin was like the skin of an onion, and their eyes were a cloudy red, like cataracts. Marcus looked the same as ever, long black hair and an apathetic face. Caius, her favourite of her bosses, had a tuft of white hair that sat on his head like a sinking cloud. It made him look quite comical, but his cruel face showed otherwise. Aro was the big boss, though he acted like the kind, innocent one, he was the most cunning, and every decision would come down to him, in the end. She didn't care for Aro much, but he was in charge, and she was okay with that. He was like her and her brother's father, therefore, he wasn't as fun as Caius, who she had more in common with.

"Jane! Darling!" Aro called happily, reaching out to her. When she reached him he picked her up and kissed her forehead. "Excellent work, my dear, I see you have brought dear John-" He paused, and looked up at Edward. "This isn't John… Who might you be, dear guest?" He asked Edward.

"Edward Cullen," He said, dully. Though he knew he didn't have long, he realized he was still able to feel sick. Feeling helpless, seeing all of those tortured humans; he shuddered in disgust.

Aro looked down at Jane, his long, dark hair falling over his face. He pushed it away, and his ecstatic smile was revealed. "Well done, my dear one," He laughed happily. "Oh, so we are in the presence of a great Cullen? Fantastic! I have heard so much about all of you from your dear… _father_, quite recently. You are a telepath, correct?" By recently, he meant decades ago.

"Yes,"

"Excellent, excellent. And you have come here today to join our ranks?" Aro asked, though he seemed to already know the answer – at least, the answer he wanted to hear. His dark, maroon eyes sparkled excitedly.

"No, Aro. I have come to ask if you would… end my existence." He said slowly, but clearly.

Aro gasped theatrically, looking around the hall at all the other vampires in disbelief. "You _what_? You want me to kill you, dear one? Why ever would I do such a thing?"

"Either because I've asked you kindly, or because you're forced to stop me from revealing the secret of your existence." Edward said simply; he had it all sorted out.

"Oh! Well…" Aro said loudly, thoughtfully. "I don't think I want to do this, actually." He said, though it wasn't exactly a 'no'. "Can you tell us _why_?"

"My…" He paused. What was Bella in connection to him now? "The love of my life, she's dead." Edward sighed.

"Oh! And you wish to join her in death?" Aro asked, leaning forward. Edward nodded. "Could you tell us about her?"

"I'd rather not," He said slowly.

"Go on, just a few things… what was her name?"

"Isabella Swan." He answered blankly.

"I see. Now, don't you think that Isabella would want you to do something more… beneficial in your life?" Aro said innocently, playing the salesman.

"Like what?"

The old vampire tilted his head to the side, smiling. "Well… We always need help here," He smiled, speaking like the Volturi was a charity.

"Become part of the Volturi? Nuclear bombs are more beneficial than you," Edward sneered.

"Oh my, well that's just plain _mean_." Aro gasped, dramatically insulted. "Let's just say that even if you _do_ try exposing us to the lovely, unknowing people outside," He looked at the window mock mournfully, "We won't kill you. Shall I have Caius tell you what we _will_ do?"

"You will be left in one of our caves alone and starving, until you come around to the idea," Caius croaked, like a lizard that had just been disturbed.

"I'd rather that. Cut the crap and put me in the cave." He groaned.

"Not yet," Aro dismissed him, and addressed the room. "Is anyone thirsty?" He called. They all laughed in agreement. "I think Heidi's back, at last," He sighed. "Well, Mr. Cullen, at least you'll get a good meal beforehand." He grinned like a kindly old man.

Suddenly, Heidi burst in, and instead of having the expected large amount of tourists, she had one girl, dragging her along by the wrist. "She knows about us!" Heidi exclaimed, and the room fell silent. The girl looked around the room from under long blonde hair with frightened eyes, and Edward could see that it wasn't the idea Rachel had in mind.

**AN: Helooooo (: **

**What'dya think? R&R? Tell tell tell! :P  
**

**Uhhmm… tbh, I'm quite tired, & idk what else to say…**

**But ohyeah! I'm thinking of doing another story along with this one – slower, though, so it doesn't interrupt this one. They won't be connected, & it'll be Halloween themed :D If you want to hear about it, I'll either have started it, or I'll tell you about it in the next author's note.. but review! Thankyouuu!**

**Loveeeyaaa x**


	6. The Centre

Chapter 6

**The Centre**

"Okay, look, people. I can see that you've put a lot of thought and preparation into this, and that you think that all you need to do is ambush me, but you're wrong. Sally, if you don't let go, I _will_ make you. Even if I hadn't found out about my power, I could still kill you all, but I _honestly_ don't want to." Bella sighed, wondering if she would have to hurt any of them to escape.

"She's lying." Sally said bluntly. "She would have done something by now."

"Please, don't make me," Bella begged, like she was the weak one. She batted at Victoria's blade, but Sally had a strong grip and pressed stronger into her neck.

"Listen, vamp. We don't want to hurt you either. We just want you to come with us, get in our van, and then come help us." A voice from the trees said.

"Oh, hah! Okay, I'll go in your van. This sounds like some sort of risky date rape you're pulling." She laughed nervously.

"No, look, Bella. I know I lied to you-"

"How do you know my name?" She said, cutting Sally off.

"I… well. You'll understand if you let me explain what we do." She said quickly. "We're from a specialist hospital in Seattle. When your case came through to the hospital in Forks, we were curious, because we believed that it might have had something to do with our line of work. A girl is found dead in the bottom of the sea. When the helicopter was airlifting your 'corpse' away, all of the passengers died gruesomely – all their blood drained – and the helicopter was left in a random field. The corpse? Missing. Of course we would come to the conclusion that you had become a vampire. We did more research, and decided that this case was ours, since everywhere but us believes you dead. We've been tracking you since you left your old house. The plan was put together quickly, and I'm sorry we lied to you." Sally explained.

"Alright… so you've found me. You know I'm alive-ish. Why do you still want to see me?"

"Well, our base in our hospital is research on curing diseases, and, though it sounds like something from a stereotypical vampire story, we have reasons to believe that something about vampires has healing properties. Whether it's the blood, the venom-"

"After the change, vampires don't have blood-" Bella cut in, only to be interrupted herself.

"Of course they do! It's frozen! Can't you tell from the change in… say, eye colour? Or how after feeding, the cheeks are always a little rosy? We know your vampire history, so you can't say you're clueless. We've been trying to get to those Cullens you hung out with for a while now, but they're very good at evading our plans." The fact that they knew so much about vampires, especially the Cullens, worried Bella, but she didn't mention it, yet.

"So… you guys are catching vampires for medical research? Like testing on animals, but with vampires? And you think I'm going to let myself be used willingly?" She cried angrily.

"No, no. We don't just do that," Another voice said, and a twinkly eyed man from nearby in the trees stepped into view. "We're also trying out things that will be helpful to vampires… food for vampires, a way of reversing the change, anything that _might_ be possible, we're exploring. My daughter… she became a vampire. That's why I'm helping. That's why _she's_ helping."

"Either way, you're using me – and your daughter - as a guinea pig."

"Miss Swan, you do see the positivity of our work?" Sally asked formally, the 'submit or die' question.

"I do, I just don't want to be a guinea pig for your experiments. I'm willing to _help_ you, on the other hand." Bella said thoughtfully. She had no idea what she could ever do to help them, but it seemed like a good way to escape.

"Right, that's great," The man smiled reassuringly, though Bella certainly wasn't reassured. He looked a little too old, a little too plain to be working on some top-secret medical experiment. His greying moustache quivered when he grinned, and suddenly she pictured Charlie in his place. She started shaking with emotion again, and Sally hopped off her back, and gave her the knife back, like she sensed Bella's sadness. Though the sharp vampire blade would surely make her in a better off situation, it made her feel weaker; like they didn't see her as enough of a threat to withhold her weapon. Though really, it could do no better, or even less than her arms, or her strange power, which she continued to focus on; keeping everything alive. She barely accepted it; it clattered to the ground as she watched the Charlie-lookalike. In light of her new power, she had actually killed him. She had killed her own father, the man who had looked after her, put up with her through the most important times of her life. He hadn't thrown her out when she moped about the Cullens, he had tried his best to remain the loving and caring father he had always been. Slowly, she brought her palms up to her eyes, as though to block out the human faces, to stop them from seeing her shameful face, to stop her from seeing their judgemental looks.

A hand tentatively touched her back, and gently guided her forward. She walked with them out of the forest without question.

They had a van, parked where Bella had once parked her old, rusted Chevy. She was carefully pushed into the back, where there were chairs, a gurney, plenty of secured freeze boxes and secure units with beakers full of different coloured liquids and syringes. The place was like a miniature, portable science laboratory. Sally, and the older man with shining eyes followed her in, and Sally sat on the gurney, swinging her legs a few centimetres from the floor, completing her childish look. They all sat in silence as all the other humans got in the van. The van growled into life, disturbing the melancholy silence. Slowly, they started accelerating, driving away from the meadow. "How's about some music?" Someone in the front of the van called, turning around to look at the three in the back. The two humans nodded slowly, though they focused on Bella, who remained motionless. Some current pop hit suddenly blasted through the speakers, but remained unnoticed.

She took a deep breath, annoyed that it did nothing to help how she felt. "Hey, chickie." The old man said gently, reassuringly. He put a finger under her chin, and she looked up, not meeting his eyes. "You know you can only go up from here, right?" He asked quietly. She didn't answer, and still didn't look at him. "You wish things never happened?" He asked. She had found a corner to stare at, rather than look at him, and her mind felt frozen. "Well, what that's nothing new. Personally, I wish there was no such thing as vampires. Can you believe I spent the last twenty years helping my daughter survive? I was a butcher at the time she was changed, and… I had the blood there… it felt so wrong to do it. Disgusting. For years in my life, I resented her – though it wasn't her fault, I _hated_ her. And she'd never done anything wrong. A few times, I found myself trying to 'accidentally' get her with a lit match, drop the candle on her. One night, I tried attacked her with a _stake_," He laughed sadly, "Obviously, that doesn't work. She was horrified, realizing what she really was, what she did to me."

"But at least you're both alive." Bella stated dully.

"In a way, yes." He said, nodding. "And we've forgiven each other, of course. I knew she wasn't doing any intentional harm, and she understood my stress and sadness. And her mother…" He trailed off, coughing. "She went straight to her mother, upon waking up as a vampire. Of course, she had been attacked by vampires, and she thought she'd been mugged, or raped. She went to her Mama's, desperate, tearful, unaware. You can guess…"

Bella nodded, though she didn't speak, didn't show any emotion. She knew that not everyone wanted sympathy, and that this man was one of those people. He understood his actions, he understood other's actions, and he moved on with it, quietly and surely. "I can tell that whatever you've done is going to be one of those things that you will never be able to accept in your own life, but surely you can accept what can't be changed?" The only reaction he saw was a pursing of her lips, but inside, she was squirming with the truth of his words. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself, accept the past as the _past_. And she was going to be living with that guilt for a very long time, if the 'scientists' didn't kill her soon. "You can do good in your new life, try forget, work away those wrongs; you can help us. We're all trying to do the same thing as you here, forgive and forget our pasts."

Suddenly, Sally jumped up off the gurney and walked toward one of the shelves. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up into a cardboard box. There was a sound like the chinking of glass, as if there were people inside the box announcing a toast. Then, she lowered, and turned to face Bella, a glass bottle in hand. It was filled with a dark red, pure liquid. Bella shook her head, closing her eyes as she looked away from the bottle. "Look, we don't want you to go hungry and eat us." Sally groaned, pushing the bottle of blood at Bella. She accepted it into her hand, but didn't do anything with it. She didn't even look at it. "Drink it, please," Sally said, in an almost begging voice. She sounded awfully afraid for someone who had recently willingly let a vampire reach into a bleeding wound.

"Sally…" The man said, as though in warning. She shushed him, and looked back at Bella pleadingly. With an unfulfilling sigh, Bella looked down at the delicious yet disgusting bottle. The liquid inside looked thick, like yoghurt, yet it appeared it would flow like water. Slowly, she reached up and undid the screw top lid. The scent escaped quickly, dancing around her senses as it did so. Unable to help herself, though a small, repelled voice in her head cried, Bella brought the blood to her mouth, and drank.

And spat it out, retching. "What on _earth _did you do to it?!" She cried, showing proper emotion again. She covered the bottle opening with a hand, so the wonderful, trick scent wouldn't tempt her again.

"Nothing, actually." Sally remarked without interest. Instead, she was writing on a sheet. "That's another one, Marc." She sighed, and the man – Marc, apparently – glowered at her.

"That wasn't nice." He said disapprovingly. "Bella, that's not blood. It's one of our synthetic blood experiments, and one that has not been favoured at all."

"Of course it hasn't been _favoured!_ It tasted like you'd poured _moss_ in it!" She hissed.

"Well, we wouldn't know," Sally shrugged. "And Holly didn't want to try it, did she?" She asked Marc, who rolled his eyes.

"That _might_ have proved a certain point, Sally." He sighed. She just grimaced, before lying down on the gurney, resting the back of her head on her hands.

"My parents were made into vampires." She stated. There was a long silence, where neither Bella nor Marc knew what to offer to her comment. Marc had already heard her story, several times, but he was unsure of what to make of her boldness. He had been working with her for a few years, and during all that time, he had never heard her talk about her past, without a lot of prompting, that is. "Just because we're offering sob stories." She grinned, and faced the other two; her round, freckled cheeks looked like a hamster's. "Mom came home one day, for once in her life – her business trips meant that she was away for_ever_ – and she bit Dad. They didn't care whether they got me or not. I ran away." She said, smiling, oddly cheerful. "They're dead," Sally said, her eyes lightening, either with the fact that she no longer had parents, or because she was being sarcastic; even she didn't know herself.

"I don't think we needed to hear that one, Sal." Marc said quietly, sympathetically.

"I'm not attention seeking." Sally pouted, before shrugging. "Whatever. I'm going to have a nap, we've got a while yet." She said, rolling onto her side, facing away from them.

"Don't worry, she's like that sometimes." Marc sighed, almost immediately after Sally turned away.

"I'm not _actually_ asleep, Marco." She mumbled in response.

"Marc!" He yelled, angry at the extra 'o' added to his name.

"Anyway, we're not that far away from the centre, and the guys up front like to drive fast, so there's not much of a wait." He smiled at Bella, who stared at him passively. "We have some _real _blood, if you're hungry, though?" He asked.

Bella shook her head, though she was lying. The synthetic blood had tricked her in a cruel way, and her throat was seeking revenge.

True to Marc's statement, the centre wasn't far away. It didn't take them long to arrive, and all pile out of the large van into a vast, minimalistic garage, full of lots of other vans. When she got out of the van, she noticed that the registration plate was 'V4MP-K1ll', and of course, that did nothing to lighten her dark mood. She shuddered, then realized that it wouldn't be such a bad idea, if they did kill her. Charlie had wanted her dead. He said she wasn't really his daughter. How did she know he wasn't right? Plus, it would solve her guilt and despair. But it was the coward's way out, and life, like Marc had said; life could only go up. She hoped.

Whether or not they were going to kill her, she still had to go with them. There was no way out, anyway, and she didn't really mind if they _did_ kill her.

Sally walked along beside her, muttering while she pulled out a set of keys. When they reached the door, she didn't actually use any of the keys, but instead, there was a keypad for a code, which she covered with a curved hand. Clearly, Sally was in charge, at least out of the people Bella had so far seen. The keypad beeped, and she opened the door into a very hospital looking hallway. It was a sterile, pure white, and stank of cleaning alcohol. The lights were too bright, especially for a vampire hospital. True, vampires didn't react to light like stereotypical, movie vampires, but with heightened senses, the lights were very bright. Despite that, Bella hardly sparkled. It wasn't exactly sunlight, but a twinkle of skin was expected. She didn't care, though. There were more pressing matters in her mind than sparkling like glitter.

There were plain white doors on both sides of the hall, just like a hospital. Sally peeked into each one's window as she wandered by, stepping lightly on her tiptoes, but failing in grace as she tripped over her own feet, staggering forward. One of the humans walking beside her sniggered, and she glowered at him. Eventually, they came to a large, metal door, and Sally used one of several keys to open it, leading into a spacious, airy room. There were beige, comfortable-looking chairs, coffee tables, and a chestnut brown reception desk. One of the windows took up an entire wall, making the room bright and breezy. There were a group of people around the reception desk, laughing and chatting; some old, some young, but none _looked_ like scientists. In the centre of the group stood a very tall redhead woman in casual clothes; it was obvious she was the vampire daughter Marc had been talking about.

"Oh hey!" She suddenly squeaked, before pushing through the crowd and jogging toward Bella, who watched enviously as the redhead ran through the sunlight, expecting sparkles. Instead, she _didn't_ sparkle – she ran through the light as normally as a regular human. "New vamp!" she grinned, before hugging Bella, who stood as still as a tree. "O…kay. Dahling, you _have_ to loosen up!" She said in a faux New York accent, before laughing, and talking normally. "So you're the new kid they've been jabbering about! Gosh, you _are_ pretty spectacular! What's up with the lippie?" She asked, touching Bella's lip. "It suits you, goth chick," She grinned, before finally stepping back.

Bella smiled woodenly, before turning back to look at the humans she had travelled with. They all stood, watching the two vampires hopefully. "They want a vampire catfight." Holly stage whispered, before laughing.

Marc shook his head quickly, laughing. "Holly, want to come with us on the 'tour'?" He asked, and she nodded quickly, before grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her back toward the humans, who followed them through another door, this time a dark wood one.

"Okaaaay." Sally sighed, watching Holly with a jealous glower. "This," She said, stopping by the first door. She stabbed her finger at the bold 'Biohazard' sign on the door. "This is where we store possible formulas for testing, and next door is where they're generated. As you're not exactly part of the… staff that _deals_ with that, you don't really need to know about this or any of the other rooms on this floor." She said tiredly, methodically. In the presence of Holly, her mood had dulled; as though the pretty vampire borrowed her charisma.

"Our rooms are upstairs, we're neighbours," Holly said happily, linking her arm through Bella's. "Come on." She suddenly ran forward, and the two vampires disappeared up the stairs at vampire speed.

Sally sighed, trying to remain apathetic. She knew she wasn't the only jealous human in the place, but that didn't mean she felt comfortable showing it. It was worse that there was a new vampire in the centre; she felt twice the envy. Most of the men working in the centre – the young, intelligent scientists – still hadn't registered that the beautiful new creatures were _not_ actually human, and therefore still believed they were within a chance of being with them.

Sally _knew_ she was pretty. She wasn't vain or conceited, but she knew that for looks, she didn't do too badly. She had the personality of a child, and in reality, she wasn't very high up in the centre's staff, but looks, she was okay with. But these new vampires… they just made her look stupid. Not like her parents; they weren't pretty vampires, and she didn't have time to receive a knock to her self esteem, not when she was escaping them.

She remembered the original motives of the centre. Research of vampire cases, and help rebuilding _human_ lives. They didn't care for the vampires. Back then, vampires didn't need help. They were beautiful, strong, and immortal; what could the small group of humans possibly offer them? Lots, apparently. Sally shook her head bitterly, before walking after the two vampires, up the stairs.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she was met by silence; an unusual occurrence where Holly was involved. Despite the new vampire's quiet, melancholy manner, it shouldn't have been long before she too was squeaking and running around like an excited puppy. But, to Sally's surprise, she found that they were both in their own, separate rooms.

She knocked lightly on Bella, the new vampire's room, and stepped in. Surprisingly, the depressed creature was _smiling_. Just slightly, but it was still an honest smile. Sally shook her head in wonder, convinced Bella was bi-polar. "Hey." She said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Hi." Bella said, sounding awkward. Though Sally had knocked, she felt as though she'd been disturbed, her thoughts interrupted.

"What're you all smiley about?" Sally asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was just thinking about my life recently, and how ridiculous it's been, how fast and unusual, and I'm wondering if things will seem mundane soon…" She trailed off, feeling self conscious, like Sally was judging what she had said.

"So, really, a bit of minor hysteria?" Sally said, then shook her head, grinning. "Things won't be mundane. You'll be set straight to work tomorrow."

"Great." Bella said, smiling a little again. At least she would start on something good soon. "I actually _am_ quite interested in this sort of thing… I did biology back at high school, and I'd been interested in vampire stuff since I met the Cullens… It'll be amazing to study this sort of thing, help other vampires… and humans."

"Woah!" Sally laughed. "Sorry, hon. _You're_ not going to be studying, the lab nerds are studying _you_." She said, slightly mockingly.

Bella frowned, "So you're using me as a lab rat?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"Do you deserve better?" Sally countered, showing some of her annoyance towards vampires.

"I suppose not. But I think that I'll know as well as any human what's going to help and what's not. I think that I'll do as well as any human as a vampire, that what I've done in my life matches what you've done. In fact, maybe yours is worse. What did you do to your parents, exactly? Did you kill them immediately, or did you torture them, use them, first? And do you feel guilt about it?" Bella said, standing up, gaining confidence. She didn't have to be the withering daisy anymore. She didn't have to feel sorry for herself. Sure, she regretted like mad, but if she let the pain and sadness stay with her, she'd tear herself apart.

"Don't talk about my parents. You have no idea what they did to me. They _deserved_ what they got." Sally snarled.

"So really, the only difference between us is that I'm a vampire, and I didn't _torture_… my Dad... I _regret_ what's happened in my life. You don't care. You killed them, and it doesn't matter to you. Yet _I_ feel remorse, and you look down your nose at _me?!"_

"Look. I honestly couldn't care less about your kind heart. It's frozen and dead. And wrong. How can you tell what I feel about my parents?" Sally spat, advancing toward Bella. "I'm a pretty good actor. I'm sure you are too, you considerate princess. I may study science, but there's no science to prove you have a soul. How could you keep it, with your beauty, strength, everything else that's going for you? Why should you bother with a soul? You're great at everything else, you don't need to care. You're a vampire and a killer, a remorseless liar."

"If you hate vampires, why did you join this group?" Bella asked.

"Originally, we started up to eradicate the vampire '_plague'_. But that's beside the point. You're going to be a lab rat, exactly right, if you want to call it that. Personally, I wouldn't, it's a little too complementary." She spat on Bella, and it landed squarely on her pale, flawless cheek. With a snarl, Bella pounced.

**AN: Last chapter reviews? None. Nada. El Zilcho. :/ That's why I've not updated in a while. I don't care if you want to question, or suggest, or even insult my story, just… tell me something about it, mkay?**

**I'm thinking of leaving Edward's story behind for a while, after the next one? Please, if you actually care about this story, tell me what you think. Personally, I've quite liked this story, compared to my others. Two of them are too small to be considered stories, & the third is… immature, to me now. :/**

**Mkay, thanks (:**

**Love, xxx**


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